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Chapter 113 Partners Are The Most Important
🕑 Added 2025-04-18 12:57:14 +0000 UTCSimu rubbed the space between his brows.
There was no helping it—this Obito was just too noisy.
Even though he kept getting pressed into the dirt by Kakashi again and again, he still charged in to challenge him every time.
Simu couldn't decide whether to call it bravery or a death wish.
But maybe that kind of relentless spirit was exactly what someone like the cold-hearted Kakashi needed?
“Alright, you two,” Simu finally spoke up to stop them. “Now that everyone’s introduced their dreams, it’s time to begin the test.”
Following the tradition, Simu pulled out two bells.
He was continuing the same teaching methods passed down from the Third Hokage to Jiraiya, and now to him—Hanyu Simu.
And one day, Kakashi would follow that same tradition.
“These two bells here,” Simu said, “your task is to take them from Matatabi.”
“Whoever gets a bell eats lunch. The one left without goes hungry at noon.”
The three of them froze.
Was this a joke?
Using a Tailed Beast as the opponent for their very first test?
Where was the basic line of human decency?
Even Kakashi, who was usually composed, couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
He wasn’t worried Matatabi would kill them on purpose.
He was worried she might accidentally slap them to death.
Only the ever-confident Uchiha Obito declared loudly:
“Don’t worry, Rin! I’ll definitely defeat this giant civet cat!”
“We’ll each get a bell, and let that dead fish face Kakashi go hungry!”
You had to admit—Obito really was a unique voice among the Uchiha clan.
Rin genuinely wanted to cover his mouth.
Did this guy even understand what a Tailed Beast was?
Even three fully trained Jōnin wouldn’t dare fight one head-on.
Simu, hands in his pockets, said flatly:
“You sure have confidence, Uchiha brat.”
“Well, I’ll be watching your performance with great interest.”
He tossed the two bells into the air. They landed softly in front of Matatabi’s massive paws.
“Tch. What a pain,” Matatabi muttered lazily, standing up. “But since it’s Master Simu’s request, I suppose I have no choice.”
In that moment, an overwhelming wave of killing intent and chakra flooded the area.
As a Tailed Beast, Matatabi’s sheer presence was already oppressive, but after the Battle of Mount Kikyo, she had become even more terrifying.
Back then, Simu had ordered Katsuyu to retrieve a severed tail from Gyūki, the Eight Tails.
After Matatabi devoured that tail, her strength climbed to an entirely new level.
The poor Eight Tails—first one of his horns was stolen by Orochimaru, now he was missing a tail thanks to Simu.
Simu found his thoughts drifting before snapping back to the present.
Matatabi lazily stepped on the two bells and looked at the trio.
“If you can get the bells from me, you pass,” she said casually.
“That’s it? Leave it to me!” Obito shouted as he charged forward without hesitation.
“Idiot,” Kakashi muttered, following close behind.
Seeing both of them move, Rin also rushed forward.
Matatabi’s mouth curved into a faint smirk. A deep roar erupted from her throat, shaking the ground.
Her Tailed Beast chakra surged outward like a storm, sweeping toward the three Genin.
Obito, who was leading the charge, was instantly blown away.
Kakashi immediately pulled the short sword—White Fang—from his back and jammed it into the ground, using it to steady himself. With his free hand, he caught Obito mid-flight.
“Thanks, dead fish face,” Obito grumbled, still reeling from the blast.
At the same time, he reached out and grabbed Rin before she was swept away too.
Thanks to quick reflexes, none of them were flung across the forest like rag dolls.
Kakashi ignored Obito’s comment. With a serious expression, he tried to figure out how to deal with their current predicament.
Matatabi’s chakra pressure finally eased slightly.
Obito took the opportunity and shouted, “Kakashi! Use Wind Style to match with my attack!”
Without waiting, he let go of Kakashi’s arm, formed hand seals, and shouted:
“Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!”
Obito’s natural talent wasn’t exceptional, and this technique had been forged through countless nights of hard training.
Originally, he’d hoped to impress his new Jōnin sensei.
He didn’t expect to run into a monster like Simu.
Still, faced with the opening, Kakashi didn’t hesitate. He immediately formed hand seals of his own.
“Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!”
It was a true mark of genius.
Fresh out of the academy, and Kakashi’s Wind Style was already at the level of a full Chūnin.
The giant fireball ignited into a massive wave of flame as it fused with the gusting wind.
The blazing inferno surged toward Matatabi.
The two-tailed cat raised her paw lazily and swatted the flames aside like they were nothing.
The roaring firestorm scattered with a puff, leaving Obito frozen in shock, his mouth half-open.
“Damn it! I don’t believe this!”
Obito didn’t say another word and charged straight at Matatabi, the Two-Tails.
“Idiot…”
Kakashi muttered coldly, but in the end, he still threw a few kunai to cover Obito’s approach.
Matatabi let out a lazy yawn.
She raised her paw and casually slapped the ground in front of her.
The massive force shattered the earth, and the shockwave sent Obito flying again.
“If that’s all you’ve got, I’m afraid you’re not qualified to be a student of Lord Simu.”
A few kunai pierced through the dust cloud and flew toward Matatabi.
She didn’t even flinch. Two of the kunai struck her body and instantly melted, reduced to pools of molten iron by the intense flames cloaking her.
However, just as a third kunai was about to land—
It transformed into Kakashi.
“Our goal is just to get the bells from your paws. We don’t need to defeat you!”
Kakashi, who suddenly appeared, spoke in a cold, composed tone. He lunged toward the bells with incredible speed.
“You brat… You think it’s going to be that easy?”
Matatabi released the bells from her paw and swept it toward Kakashi with a controlled strike.
Even though she held back her strength, the sheer force was still enough to do serious damage.
With a puff of smoke, Kakashi vanished.
“Shadow Clone plus Transformation Technique… classic Kakashi.”
Simu stood atop a tree nearby, a look of appreciation in his eyes.
Matatabi’s expression changed. Realizing she’d been tricked, she immediately turned toward the bells.
A hand emerged from the earth beneath her—grabbing the two bells that had just been released.
Matatabi was about to act, when—
“The test is over!” Rin’s voice rang out.
That’s right. Simu had clearly said: As long as you get the bells, it counts as a pass.
The moment Kakashi seized the bells, the trial officially ended.
Matatabi could no longer attack them.
“Congratulations, Kakashi. You’ve passed the test.”
Simu walked out from the woods, hands in his pockets, with a casual air.
“Lord Simu… I was careless…”
Matatabi sounded a little embarrassed—she didn’t expect to be outplayed by a kid.
Simu waved a hand nonchalantly. “It’s fine.”
Then he turned to Kakashi and said, “What I care more about is—who will you give the other bell to?”
Kakashi froze.
While he hesitated, Obito’s loud voice rang out:
“Kakashi, give the bell to Rin! It’s just one meal—I’m Obito Uchiha, I can handle it!”
Rin wanted to refuse, but Simu made the decision for them.
“Alright. Then Kakashi and Rin pass the test. Obito—you’ll be punished.”
Obito raised his chin stubbornly. “Bring it on!”
And so, he was hung from a tree.
Upside down.
Simu then took out four lunchboxes prepared earlier by Rei (Ling Yi).
One for himself, one for Matatabi, and the remaining two for Kakashi and Rin.
None for Obito.
Who knew why Matatabi loved human food so much—especially bento?
“Well then, enjoy your lunch.”
“But don’t share with Obito. If you do, it’ll count as mission failure.”
At those words, Kakashi’s eyes flickered.
Simu vanished in a blur, leaving only Kakashi, Rin, and the dangling Obito behind.
Rin looked at the place where Simu disappeared.
She glanced around nervously, then looked at Obito, who was swallowing hard.
Her heart softened.
But Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Lord Simu isn’t far. He’s still watching.”
Kakashi sat down calmly and began eating his lunch.
Rin hesitated for a moment, then followed suit and opened her own.
Two minutes passed.
Then Rin whispered, “Do you think… it’s okay now?”
Kakashi said nothing.
Rin took the chance and ran over to Obito with half her meal.
She began feeding him, spoon by spoon.
“I knew you were the best, Rin!”
“Not like that dead-fish-faced Kakashi…”
Kakashi’s eye twitched.
This idiot...
Sure enough, a familiar sleepy voice rang out above them.
“Oh my, what do we have here? The deep bond of teammates?”
Simu appeared, perched casually atop the tree Obito was tied to, looking down at him and Rin.
“L-Lord Simu… it was my fault. I begged Rin to feed me! If you’re going to punish someone, punish me! I’m the one with no shame!”
Obito shouted passionately, as if trying to earn some honor points.
A flash of golden light cut the rope holding him.
Simu floated down, yawning.
“Alright, alright. Enough barking. Let’s go—I’ll take you to eat barbecue.”
“For real?!”
Obito’s eyes lit up like lanterns.
“Of course.”
Simu walked off with his hands in his pockets, heading for the town.
Kakashi stared after him with a flicker of doubt in his eyes.
Shouldn’t a ninja always put the mission first…?
As Simu passed by Kakashi, he spoke in a voice only he could hear:
“For me… my comrades come first.”
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